Etymograph

English

coeval

Coeval comes from Latin aevum ‘age’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- ‘long time, lifetime’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyu-1‘long time, lifetime’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiwom1‘period, age’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaevum2‘age’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcoaevus2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1782coeval2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin aevum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English coeval
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1782, Thomas Warton: “The latter [Rollright Stones], which has every signature of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyu-Wiktionary, Latin aevum‘long time, lifetime’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiwomWiktionary, Latin aevum‘period, age’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaevumWiktionary, English coeval‘age’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcoaevusWiktionary, English coeval
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1782coevalWiktionary, English coeval. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1782, Thomas Warton: “The latter [Rollright Stones], which has every signature of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- ‘long time, lifetime’

aye, ay, eon, aeon, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *aiwom ‘period, age’

age, eternally, 9 more

through Latin aevum ‘age’

eternal, eternity, longevity, 7 more

Today it means

adj Of the same age or era; contemporary.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “coeval”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin aevum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- / coeval

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